Manifold: Origin

Manifold: Origin
Author(s)	Stephen Baxter
Cover artist	Photonica
Country	Great Britain
Language	English
Series	Manifold
Genre(s)	Science fiction novel
Publisher	Voyager
Publication date	2001
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	441 pp
ISBN	0-345-43079-4
OCLC Number	48390748
Dewey Decimal	823/.914 21
LC Classification	PR6052.A849 M34 2002
Preceded by	Manifold: Space
Followed by	Phase Space

Manifold: Origin (2001) is a science fiction novel by author Stephen Baxter from the Manifold Trilogy.

This is the third installment in Stephen Baxter's Manifold trilogy. It sees Manifold regular Reid Malenfant and others once again dealing with possibilities of primate evolution in all forms and grappling with the Fermi Paradox. This time an artifact in the sky transports a select few individuals including Malenfant's wife to a new red moon which has appeared in place of the moon we know. Blaming himself, Malenfant launches a one man mission to find his wife and solve the Fermi Paradox once and for all.

Reception

Jeff Zaleski was mixed in his review for Publishers Weekly saying that "a variety of characters speculate on the simpler aspects of Darwinian theory, but somewhat disappointingly they all reach the same conclusion. Gratuitous violence from time to time offers relief from the challenge of keeping straight the host of loosely related story lines. Baxter fans should be well satisfied, but those who prefer more thought-provoking SF will need to look elsewhere."^[1] Roland Green in his review for Booklist was much more positive saying "Baxter uses many more characters and viewpoint shifts than Arthur C. Clarke in support of a theme that distinctly recalls Clarke’s classic Childhood's End (1953). He also details survival in primitive societies unsparingly; as a result, much of the book is not for the weak of stomach. Lovers of intelligent variations on classic sf themes, however, will embrace this worthy successor to Manifold: Time (2000) and Manifold: Space (2001)."^[2]

cover to the US edition

Footnotes

1. ^ Zaleski, Jeff (January 28, 2002). "MANIFOLD (Book)". Publishers Weekly 249 (4): 276. ISSN 0000-0019. 
2. ^ Green, Roland (January 15, 2002). Booklist 98 (9/10): 774. ISSN 00067385.